diff --git a/tools/perf/util/parse-events.c b/tools/perf/util/parse-events.c
index d93f3cea93c7..928918b796b2 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/parse-events.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/parse-events.c
@@ -697,7 +697,11 @@ parse_raw_event(const char **strp, struct perf_event_attr *attr)
 		return EVT_FAILED;
 	n = hex2u64(str + 1, &config);
 	if (n > 0) {
-		*strp = str + n + 1;
+		const char *end = str + n + 1;
+		if (*end != '\0' && *end != ',' && *end != ':')
+			return EVT_FAILED;
+
+		*strp = end;
 		attr->type = PERF_TYPE_RAW;
 		attr->config = config;
 		return EVT_HANDLED;